Thrown A Bone
Can you put the past behind you in order to gain the assistance of a vital ally Cast * Sam Yao * Janine De Luca * Amelia Spens * ANNIE * Jones Plot Rendezvous You, Amelia and Janine run towards a rendezvous with Jones, whose assistance you need to recover the fragment of the Edda buried under Mount Seneca. Fresh from his rehabilitation with Colonel Sage, Jones has promised to help you using the expertise gained in his pre-apocalypse career as a toxic waste disposal specialist. Off-Grid You meet up with Jones, who overhears your discussion of his mental health. He assures you he is feeling much improved, before informing you he needs your help procuring a specialist chemical neutralising agent from a nearby facility. The whole area in question is off-grid, though - not shown on any maps. Ghouls You proceed through the employee village for the company that owned the glass building at which you met Jones. Suspiciously, the company’s name translates from Latin as “Business Company”. Before you can ruminate on that too much, Ghouls make their presence known and you’re forced to hide in a long row of houses. Village Square Jones and Amelia bicker about the efficacy of Colonel Sage’s teachings while you flee the Ghouls through the long row of houses, which turn out to be interconnected dorms. No Parting You trap the Ghouls in the dorms, but Jones has slipped and injured himself. As you move on to the glass building inside which you hope to find the vital chemical, the Ghouls escape the dorms and pursue you. No Man Behind You climb the steps to the glass building, and the ghouls follow, scenting Jones’s wound. Jones demands you leave him behind, but you refuse. ANNIE You arrive at the glass building and help Janine open the door. Jones insists on guarding the rear to give you time. You open the door and stumble inside, but it slams shut of its own volition, trapping Jones outside. The culprit soon makes herself known - ANNIE. S07E30 // Rofflenet Discussion regarding this mission can be found on Rofflenet Transcript SAM YAO: Janine, Five, head for the glass building on the hill. We’re meeting Jones up ahead. AMELIA SPENS: This is, just to clarify, the same Jones who has now twice tried to murder me. SAM YAO: Well, to be fair, he just pointed a gun at your head. AMELIA SPENS: I’m not sure why we need to be fair. JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Jones is employed by Colonel Sage. We have discussed Jones at length. His rehabilitation is ongoing, but Colonel Sage believes that, just like Mr. Lynne, being busy and active is the best thing for him. And for us. Jones used to be a toxic waste disposal specialist. The Colonel has seconded him to help unearth the missing fragment of the Edda of the Wakened Warrior from beneath the burn cube explosion. He should prove an invaluable resource. AMELIA SPENS: Or he could murder us in our sleep. I can hardly wait to find out. SAM YAO: Well, you won’t be in suspense for long. The rendezvous is the coppice at the end of that track. Get going. AMELIA SPENS: We’re at the coppice, Sam. Any sign of our resident conspiracy nut? JANINE DE LUCA: If you are distressed by Jones’s presence, Miss Spens, you may leave. Your presence is not required. AMELIA SPENS: You always say that. A girl could start thinking you didn’t like her. But I’m staying. You’re using my digging equipment to get the Edda and I want a share in the profits. JANINE DE LUCA: We have no intention of profiting from it. It may contain information pertinent to a V-type cure. AMELIA SPENS: Right. Yes. I don’t think a V-type cure could be profitable. whispers Eye roll. SAM YAO: Five, is that hydrangea moving? Careful! It could be a zom. JONES: I’m not a zombie. Although my legs have gone dead from crouching. Sorry. I didn’t want to attract zoms to the rendezvous. JANINE DE LUCA: Uh, yes. Indeed. Very wise. SAM YAO: whispers Is it just me, or does he sound a lot less, you know, confused than when we last saw him? JONES: My mental health has improved, yes. SAM YAO: Oh! I – uh… JONES: Sorry, Sam. Colonel Sage gave me your frequency for my headset. I should have told you sooner. A good officer shares relevant information promptly. JANINE DE LUCA: Perhaps now you can tell us why we’re here. JONES: Of course. The excavation will need hazmat suits, which I have, and a specialist chemical neutralizing agent for the burn cube residue. I went looking on Rofflenet to see where there might be one. Some kind person said they knew there was some in the glass building on the hill. They wouldn’t tell me how they knew. The whole area’s off grid. Just gray blank on Ordnance Survey maps. Highly suspicious. AMELIA SPENS: Maybe it’s the British Area 51. JONES: Scoff if you like. But if you want me to dig up your manuscript, we have to at least check. JANINE DE LUCA: Then we have our target. Let’s run. AMELIA SPENS: Pavement cafes, Victorian lampposts, little shops. It’s almost Exmoor Militia pretty here. SAM YAO: It’s an employee village for the company that was in that glass building. Uh, the one that has the neural thingy you need. It is pretty, though. Next time the Exmoors send a convoy, we should tell them to stop here to pick up some wrought iron stuff. AMELIA SPENS: I shouldn’t think they’ll need to send convoys pretty soon. Everyone will be sending them presents. JONES: Uh, what do you mean? JANINE DE LUCA: I believe Miss Spens is alluding to the last round of negotiations between settlements over leadership before the V-type numbers grow. The Eagle Fang posse, New Canton, Colonel Sage’s colony and the Exmoor Militia were under consideration, but Exmoor now look to be the strong front runners. AMELIA SPENS: It helps that they have a nuclear submarine, of course. I’m just glad someone’s taking it on. I have a very lucrative canal-building plan that can only work if there’s relative peace in the country. Peace is good for business. On the subject of which, have you seen the name of the company on the village signs? JANINE DE LUCA: Negotium Corps. How odd. Negotium means business in Latin. SAM YAO: laughs What, so the company in the glass building was called Business Company? Who ran it, Doreen Managing Director and Jeremy CEO? JANINE DE LUCA: It’s strange. This valley is readily defensible. This would be a superb location for a settlement, yet it is deserted. You were right to be cautious and wait for us to assist you with this retrieval operation, Mr. Jones. JONES: Yeah. Well, that’s what the Colonel says. Caution in approach, then decisiveness in action. crunches AMELIA SPENS: Well, that’s delightful. I have just trodden on several bloody teeth. They’re human. moan SAM YAO: Crap. Well, that might explain it. There’s ghouls about. JONES: Perhaps we should abort the mission. The Colonel said you’re too valuable an ally to risk. AMELIA SPENS: How touching. JONES: He meant Colonel De Luca. SAM YAO: No, it’s too late to retreat. Pack of ghouls approaching along the high street. Hide in the long row of houses to your right before they spot you. Run! SAM YAO: Okay guys, you’ve lost the ghouls. Keep running through the row of terraced houses that’s actually just a very long dorm thing with cams everywhere. Apparently, privacy wasn’t the number one concern for Business Company. JONES: Privacy is overvalued. Colonel Sage says that only the guilty treasure it, especially now. Survival depends on knowledge. A good leader knows his followers well enough to deploy them successful. A good follower knows his leader well enough to predict and preempt his wishes. AMELIA SPENS: You seem quite taken with Sage and his fortune cookie philosophy. JONES: I know what you’re like, Amelia Spens. I’ve read the Colonel’s file on you. But he cured me. He showed me I was so lost, so desperate to believe in something, that I end up believing in anything. He’s given me something real. SAM YAO: That’s good. Intense, but a step in the right direction. AMELIA SPENS: Still, it looks like we’re on the right track. Here’s a map of the surrounding area. The people who lived here were testing the effects of various chemicals on the soil. They probably needed a neutralizer to clean up after them. shatters JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao, several ghouls are trying to get through the window. SAM YAO: Right. Right. You need to get to the other end of the weird long house. It leads onto the village square. We’ll try and lose them there. JANINE DE LUCA: They’re in. Runners, with me. Run! slams, glass breaks SAM YAO: Great work! Five’s broken the door lock panel, trapped the ghouls in the dorm. Uh… you okay, Jones? You’re – you’re limping. JONES: Slipped on something. An eyeball, I think. I’m – I’m fine. Keep going. SAM YAO: Uh, okay. Head up that tree-lined street, and – just a sec. Are those roses trained over CEO-shaped trellises? laughs Yeah. Look, there’s Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates. Oh look, that’s Elon Musk. Horrible what happened to him. JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao. SAM YAO: Oh, yeah. Sorry. You’re aiming for the glass building. There’s a huge flight of steps leading to it from the dragon fountain. AMELIA SPENS: You know, I feel I’ve seen enough. Digging up a V-type cure is one thing, but I’m not risking my neck for it. Let me know when you’ve got your chemicals. shatters SAM YAO: Yeah. Sorry, guys. The ghouls have smashed out of that building. JANINE DE LUCA: So the only way out is onward. We won’t be parting ways yet, Miss Spens. SAM YAO: Make for the opposite side of the square, and then up the steps. And hurry! Those ghouls are moving fast. I think they’re being drawn by Jones’s injury. Run! SAM YAO: Bloody hell. Do those steps go to the moon? I’m knackered just watching you. And are you okay, Jones? I mean, you’re still limping. JANINE DE LUCA: And bleeding. JONES: Happened when I slipped over. Broken glass on the floor. Just a nick. JANINE DE LUCA: That is more than just a nick. The wound looks quite serious. SAM YAO: And it’s attracting the ghouls. Loads of ghouls. JONES: I see. I’m a hindrance. Go. Leave me. Get to safety in the building. AMELIA SPENS: Good thinking. JANINE DE LUCA: Absolutely not. At Abel, we leave no person behind. JONES: Colonel Sage says that’s your one weakness. Sometimes, you lose sight of the greater good. But the many must always come before the few. SAM YAO: Well, you could, well, you know, look after the many and the few. JANINE DE LUCA: And what does Colonel Sage say about wasting resources? JONES: It’s a crime. JANINE DE LUCA: You are a resource, Mr. Jones. You may be the only person able to uncover the Edda. And I don’t intend to waste you. JONES: Oh. You’re – you’re – you’re right. The Colonel wouldn’t want me to throw my life away. That would be selfish. JANINE DE LUCA: Precisely. So get up, lean on Runner Five, and we shall all proceed with the mission. SAM YAO: They’re coming up both sides of the hill. Head across the plaza and get into that building. Bloody hell. They’re nearly on you. Run, guys! Run! SAM YAO: All right, guys. If you can get that door open, you’ll be safe inside the glass building and we can send a rescue party. I mean, you’ll be safe as long as it’s got a lock on the inside to keep the ghouls out. Also, ghoul-proof glass. JANINE DE LUCA: Five, please help me to open the door. The mechanism is very stiff. AMELIA SPENS: Quickly. Look at the paving of the plaza. It’s covered in human remains. Not even whole people, just severed limbs and puddles of gore. I don’t know if it was ghouls that did it or something else. For heaven’s sake, let’s get inside. JONES: I’ll guard the rear. That’s what the Colonel would want me to do. Also, I have a semi-automatic rifle. SAM YAO: Okay, and did the Colonel also tell you he’d like you to shoot the ghouls in the eye? Because that’s the only way to kill them. gunshots Yeah, apparently, he did. buzzes open JANINE DE LUCA: Five’s opened the door. Inside, quickly. Proceed, Miss Spens. And Mr. Jones, you may stop shooting - buzzes closed JANINE DE LUCA: Five, open that door immediately! Mr. Jones is trapped outside! AMELIA SPENS: It wasn’t Five who shut it, Janine. It shut itself, and it doesn’t look like it wants to open again. SAM YAO: Guys, you all right? What happened? JANINE DE LUCA: The doors have locked, Mr. Yao, with Mr. Jones on the outside. ANNIE: Welcome to Negotium Corps. I’ve been expecting you, Janine. You’re so predictable. Dangle a carrot, and the ass comes trotting. JANINE DE LUCA: ANNIE. ANNIE: And who’s that? Employee Five! I am so pleased to see you. There’s someone here who’s been so looking forward to meeting you. Did I say someone? Silly me. I meant something. laughter AMELIA SPENS: Oh dear. Category:Mission Category:Season Seven